The decision makes no sense on the merits, and it seems to be driven entirely by the administration’s desire to mollify hawkish critics that will never be satisfied by anything Biden does.
The Washington Post reports that the Biden administration is apparently reneging on a major part of the prisoner exchange agreement with Iran:
U.S. officials and the Qatari government have agreed to stop Iran from accessing a $6 billion account for humanitarian assistance in light of Hamas’s attack on Israel, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told House Democrats on Thursday, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private remarks.
Other outlets have published similar reports today. The decision makes no sense on the merits, and it seems to be driven entirely by the administration’s desire to mollify hawkish critics that will never be satisfied by anything Biden does. The money in question belongs to Iran, and the release of funds was set up in such a way that it couldn’t be used for anything except humanitarian trade.
Blocking the funds that the U.S. promised to release is churlish. It harms only Iranian civilians, as they will not be able to benefit from the imports of food and medicine that this money could have paid for. Ordinary Iranians are once again being punished for the crimes of others, and in this case the others aren’t even in Iran.
